The Department of Justice (DOJ) no longer requires temporary immigration judges to have experience in immigration law.

The new rule, which went into effect on Thursday, permits the director of the Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR), with the U.S. Attorney General’s approval, “to designate or select any attorney to serve” as a temporary immigration judge (TIJ) for a renewable six-month term. The notice states that the DOJ “declines to adopt any limitations on the number of extensions of the six-month periods or otherwise cap the length of a temporary appointment.” The EOIR conducts immigration court proceedings, appellate reviews, and administrative hearings.

Prior to the change, TIJs had to be former immigration judges or appellate immigration judges; EOIR administrative law

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